Tracy highlights ho-ho-ho homes

Thursday

Nov 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the McHenry House Holiday Home Tour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in Tracy, organizers called on expert interior designers and decorators to tackle one of the five stops on the tour.

Lori Gilbert

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the McHenry House Holiday Home Tour, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in Tracy, organizers called on expert interior designers and decorators to tackle one of the five stops on the tour.

That doesn't mean that the 3,600-square-foot home that Adelina and Steve Hanlon have shared with their two daughters for six years lacks a personal touch.

Instead, the two-story home is a combination of family treasures and designer touches.

"They came in and did the formal dining room, and it's absolutely beautiful," Adelina Hanlon said.

"They decorated my chairs. They put ribbon and wrapped the chairs up, the backs of them, very creatively. They put the finishing touch on it."

In that same dining room, though, is an artificial Christmas tree that belongs to the family. It's decorated with ornaments inherited from Steve Hanlon's parents, who have passed away.

Another room with Adelina Hanlon's signature is the home office of her husband, a division chief for the City of Tracy Fire Department, which she decorated for the first time.

"When he first mentioned it to me I kind of panicked," Adelina Hanlon said. "Then going through the Christmas boxes, I didn't need to purchase a thing. He's been in the fire service many years and I did a tree for him. He picked up a passion for bass fishing, so I did a little mini tree with a tribute to his bass hobby."

Adelina Hanlon, her mom, Juanita Ornelas, and friend Melinda Atkins pooled their talent to decorate the home, following the motto "more is better."

"We just kept embellishing," Adelina Hanlon said. "We'd think something was done and then say, 'Maybe a little more here or there.' "

The result is a home she's proud to show off to visitors on the Tracy tour that benefits McHenry House, Tracy's shelter for the homeless.

This is the first time Adelina Hanlon has opened her home for the tour, but she's served as a chaperone in years past for friends whose homes have been part of the tour.

"It's fun to see friends from long ago who come through," said Adelina Hanlon, who has been in Tracy since 1977.

Sunday's tour kicks off a month of three home tours in the region.

The San Joaquin AIDS Foundation is hosting its annual Christmas Home Tour from 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 7 in Stockton and the Mountain Ranch Holiday House Tour and Concert is noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 15. That tour ends with a concert by Mountain House Melody at the final home.